Standing Bear Is a Person: The True Story of a Native American's Quest for Justice - Softcover

Dando-Collins, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306814412 ISBN 13: 9780306814419

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2005

Synopsis

In a federal courtroom in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1879, Standing Bear, clan chief of the small and peaceful Ponca tribe, was in court demanding the same basic right that white Americans enjoyed-the right to be recognized legally as a human being. The compelling, behind-the-scenes story of that landmark court case, and the subsequent reverberations of the judge's ruling across nineteenth-century America is told in Stephen Dando-Collin's "brisk and evocative account" (Kirkus). It is a story of memorable Old West characters who joined to fight for Standing Bear and paved his way to the courthouse-the former Indian-fighting Army general who changed sides to stand with Standing Bear, the crusading Midwestern newspaper editor who had once been a gun-toting frontier preacher, and the "most beautiful Indian maiden of her time," Bright Eyes. Full of colorful characters, battles of legal wits, and the twists and turns of a cause in search of an audience, Standing Bear Is a Person is a captivating read.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Dando-Collins is an Australian-born historian, editor, and author. He has written four books, including the acclaimed Caesar's Legion.

From Booklist:

In 1877 the Ponca Indians were forcibly and illegally removed from their fertile croplands in Nebraska and taken to barren land in Oklahoma by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Standing Bear, a clan leader, told the BIA that the land was unsuitable for farming, and that the Ponca wished to return home. Their request was denied, and by the end of the year, 158 Ponca had died. Desperate, Standing Bear and 27 others decided to escape to the reservation of the Omaha, their cousins. Once there, Omaha chief Iron Eye, along with his daughter Susette, a school principal, met with Brigadier General George Crook, one of two white initiates to the Omaha Soldier Lodge brotherhood. These three then told their story to T. H. Tibbles, deputy editor of the Omaha Daily Herald, whose coverage inspired attorney John Lee Webster to represent Standing Bear. In re-creating this important chapter in Native American history, Dando-Collins captures the full drama of Standing Bear's struggle, which culminates in a riveting courtroom scene in which the judge rules in his favor. Rebecca Maksel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0306814412
• ISBN 13: 9780306814419
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288